Dropped bolt

[WingAdmin]

[NVSB4]

Invariably, my bolt or screw falls into a place where I have to remove half the panels to get to it.

[Aussie81Interstate]

The ones I have lost are definitely in the yellow range

[virgilmobile]

If I could turn my bike upside down and shake it....It would look like riding behind a Harley

[NVSB4]

If I could turn my bike upside down and shake it....It would look like riding behind a Harley

With all the bolts rattling around in there, it probably sounds like a Harley too.

[FM-USA]

In that \PIE/, why no slice of RED?
It's what we see when dropping 'X' in the intake.

As I'm slowly retiring from painting (among my many other vices), I have ABBODANZA of white T-Shirts for dropped parts and over spray catcher.
The large hole to ga-zontah, the arm holes for do'n and the neck for looking in-tah.
Since my shirts are white, dropped parts are EZ to see.
Simply spread said shirt out as A NET... but don't let her know that. . . . . .

.

[Mag]

I am still looking for a 10mm wrench that I lost when I was redoing the LED instrument panel, and replacing my handlebar switches at the same time. When you find your bold, and find my wrench, please send the wrench to.....

[SilverDave]

I was replacing a stubborn shock bolt, after doing the real wheel / tire and also rear brake rebuild...
LOL

TOO many tasks .

But as I had to wait over a weekend for wheel / tire I also decided to an oil change and new filter .
I had a small box of parts bolts from the rear wheel re-and-re in the carport . The new oil / filter went well, right up to replacing the oil filler cap. which had mysteriously vanished . I plugged it with a cloth **** as I replaced all the other wheel / brake / shock stuff, and kept looking .
Hmmmm. I finished everything else (no parts left over .. hooray ! ) and eventually swept the carport floor ... Nothing. NADA !

I priced this expensive part on e-Bay (gasp ) then also from my Honda dealer ( Double gasp )
Before giving up and ordering one , I phoned my favourite Shade Tree Mechanic ,
who said " Sure I have several . For you , no charge ! "

" But wait " he said , "Before you drive over here... have you checked between the frame and the engine ?? "

so... Its a grey cap, grey engine and frame ... and there it was ... sitting tucked into this little space.

AGH !.. Probably some deeper message here about senior moments or other lost bolts.... or both

SilverDave

[FM-USA]

Things dropped or misplaced can be alleviated by saving your discarded socks. Cut off the toes to make about 4 inch pouch for small parts. Can use said pouch to rub clean the parts inside that pouch, making it nearly impossible to loose said parts.
Slice open the rest of that sock as a rag.
. . . . (helpful Heloise enough? )

[Mag]

Hey, I found a wrench....a 3/8 wrench, did not know I lost that one. No 10 mm still.

[Mh434]

I lost a 3/8" chromed 6" extension & male Torx driver socket. It had gotten wedged in my car's engine bay, and I had to pry it out. When it came loose, I heard a "Bang!", and it was gone. I searched for it, off and on, for weeks and finally gave up on it.

I finally found it over a year later...stuck into one of the roof trusses - the Torx bit had sunk all the way into the wood. Probably a good thing I hadn't seen it go & try to catch it!

Generally, all parts, nuts, screws etc. dropped are governed by the Law of Automotive Gravitational Certainty. That is to say that, failing such items falling into an inaccessible part of an engine or drivetrain, such parts will invariably seek out the exact geographic center of the underside of the vehicle, and always beyond the reach of any of the mechanic's tools.

Of course, this gravitational force will be overcome by stronger attractional forces generated by wells, huge piles of scrap metal, deep & murky bodies of water, 2/3-full oil drums, crocodile enclosures, etc.

"Murphy" is my co-pilot....

[FM-USA]

My oil change pan and oil filters must be invisibly attached.
. . . or before an oil change someone secretly butters up my filter.

Either way, I let them have there fun together for a day or two.

[walker70]

I have surely been there since I started pulling stuff off my bike,most of it I find but some bolts I never see again.

[squirrel]

I've dropped a nut/ bolt or 3 somewhere in between the engine and the 4th dimension. I can see one nut sitting on the middle of the engine now which has been there for about 6 months laughing at me. I could remove it if I had a magnetic snake thingy (I don't) or I could remove the seat to remove the tank to remove the fairing to remove the engine to get the nut .or just use another one

[FM-USA]

Tie a string to that nut or bolt before you drop it. . . . . . . .

[jamie f]

Being an auto technician,I experience this on a daily basis.Nuts,bolts,screws,etc. usually fall into frame or suspension,But my tools on the other hand,,,,they seem to have an attraction to drain pans full of anti freeze,trans fluid or oil.Nothing worse than reaching into anti freeze for a tool.On the lighter note,when the bolts and nuts disappear,they magically reappear in the bolt bins we keep fully stocked for these situations.

[rcgreg]

I don't know where all my dropped parts went, but I keep getting ransom notes from my lost socks

[echinus1988]

10mm wrench. Hmmm made me think. Did I lose it? No my son used my wrench (not his set) and it has disappeared. It's been about 4 months now and still no sight of it. I'm about ready to take his 10mm wrench to replace my wrench.

Those 10mm wrenches, sockets are always wandering off on their own...

[Mag]

Still have not found that 10mm wrench. I was working on my "redneck" pontoon lil 25 hp Evinrude, replacing starter, ordering new starter, receiving wrong starter (because I ordered the wrong starter), not able to get new starter to work, "Frankenstein"ing the new starter with old starter parts, starting the starter (YES!!!) and now I have excess nuts and washers....OOPS! Hate that.

[echinus1988]

I'm hoping that when we finish the 1971 Honda CL350 and have it running I can finally get my garage organized and it should show up. We aren't too far from finishing. Waiting on a set of floats since the old one had a leak. No wonder the carburetor wouldn't work right. I have my tool cart started but not finished organizing. I need to finish that also.

But then we have our trip in September and so that might put things off for a while. Hard to say. Still plan on having the CL350 out of the garage and back to my cousins.

Maybe, just maybe the 10mm wrench will show up.

[redial]

Why is it that the 10mm wrench is the one that always goes for a wander? All through this posting it is always the 10mm that goes walkabout.

[Viking]

Why is it that the 10mm wrench is the one that always goes for a wander? All through this posting it is always the 10mm that goes walkabout.

Because it is small and cute and sometimes shiny and you only have two.

[AZgl1800]

I have a set of 1/4" drive, metric deep sockets.
I keep them in the original package because it is easy to see if one is missing.

Well, the 10mm is missing along with the tiny ratchet it is was on last I remember.
then the whole damn pack of deep sockets disappeared.... looked all over the plantation,
in the RV trailer side pocket for tools, in its' garage for bike parking, under the battery case holder on the trailer's tongue .... out in the shop where most of my tools are "supposed to be".....
In the house's attached garage where i have a little roll around cart for tools.....
in my office in the house, where zombies crawl in and hide.....

so, returning from Colorado last month, I found a new set of them on sale for $9.99 at Harbour Freight somewhere between Colorado and Oklahoma.....

and guess what? yup, about 3 days after we got home, I was looking for my tiny little screwdrivers so I could repair a laptop.... oh, there those little screwdrivers ............... picked them up, and what???
yup, the lost 1/4" drive metric socket set hiding in the bottom of a nameless cardboard box.

[gipsy42]

Previous to getting into this post I thought that I was the only one loosing bolts!!
Now I feel a lot better.
When working I keep at close hand a strong magnet, the ones I salvage from old Pc. Hard disks, they’re very powerful and really cheap.
Keeping one close to the bolt/nut coming out, it will catch them right away.
Also I have one of them attached to a stick of about 2 feet, when I drop a bolt under the vehicle I sweep the floor in an arc motion with it, most of the time I retrieve them fast (so long they aren’t brass or SS)
My 2 cents.

[RockportDave]

Lost one of the acorn bolts that holds the center piece on the 1500. Fell...rattle, rattle...somewhere in bike. Went to Ace and bought more stainless acorns, nuts, bolts, screws, washers. Whatever size metrics I could find for backups.
I use the magnetic 4” parts holders from HF. Cheap and work great, but gotta get the fastener to it before it goes rattle, rattle...